Month: October 2015

Weekly Industry Brief: 10.26.2015

Leave a comment

Check out my recap of industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

  • Virgin America and Spotify team up for free inflight music streaming. Link
  • ASOS reports small rise in annual profits. Link
  • Amazon beats expectations with $24.4B in sales. Link
  • Adidas aims to open automated shoe factory in Germany in 2016. Link
  • American Apparel sees bright future after bankruptcy. Link
  • Walmart plays catch-up with Amazon with significant increase in ecommerce investment. Link
  • Google revenue rises as mobile contribution grows. Link
  • Under Armour is stepping on Nike’s turf with donation to running track in Portland. Link
  • Google expresses itself with fast-delivery service expansion in Cleveland. Link
  • Apple Music has 6.5M paying subscribers. Link
  • Microsoft goes upscale with Fifth Avenue flagship store. Link
  • Amazon tested package delivery by newspaper trucks. Link
  • Coty acquires content agency Beamly as it gears up for P&G deal. Link
  • Amazon to charge $299 yearly membership for grocery delivery. Link
  • Net-a-porter launches luxury ski shop. Link
  • Lush Cosmetics touts transparency as ecommerce grows. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Twitter to let brands link up users’ Twitter handles with their customer accounts for customer care. Link
  • Flipboard launches a new targeted ads product based on its interest graph. Link
  • Digital network dedicated solely to fashion launches on Apple TV. Link
  • Instagram’s new standalone app Boomerang captures 1-second video loops. Link
  • Tailoring is key to Coca-Cola’s success on Snapchat. Link
  • Coke creates podcast with iHeartMedia to target teens. Link
  • Google discloses more search data to woo retailers. Link

Startups:

  • Time Inc. acquires Hello Giggles. Link
  • German startup Number26 turns retail shops into bank branches for its bank of the future. Link
  • A flurry of startups vie to win ecommerce battle in India. Link
  • Indiegogo creates generosity.com for personal fund-raising campaigns. Link

International:

  • Target begins shipping to Canada through its website but shoppers dismayed at cost. Link
  • Spotify moves closer to launches in Indonesia and Japan. Link
  • Primark expands on rival Zara’s home turf with Spanish flagship store. Link
  • Indonesia to woo American investment in ecommerce sector. Link
  • Rare store sales data highlights Wal-Mart’s China challenge. Link
  • Uber says 30% of trips take place in China. Link
  • Facebook strives to bring cheap wifi to rural India. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Hundreds of apps banned from app store for accessing users’ personal information. Link
  • Facebook M Assistant’s top requests include restaurant suggestions and shopping help. Link
  • Tommy Hilfiger using virtual reality in stores from New York to Moscow. Link
  • The New York Times is about to launch a virtual reality mainstream moment. Link
  • Dunkin Donuts tells customers its app needs a jolt. Link
  • Target gets into Halloween spirit with virtual reality, mobile site. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 10.19.2015

Leave a comment

Check out my recap of industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer

  • Uber’s courier service, UberRush goes live in Chicago and San Francisco. Link
  • Kohl’s expands same-day delivery to 9 cities ahead of holiday season. Link
  • Target teams up with Who What Wear on full-fledged fashion line. Link
  • Under Armour CEO and CFO to step down. Link
  • PayPal will now pay for your return shipping. Link
  • Birchbox is launching its own makeup line. Link
  • WalMart to pour $2B into ecommerce over next two years. Link
  • Nike sets aggressive revenue target of $50B by 2020. Link
  • Nordstrom Rack is becoming a massive threat to Macy’s, Kohls, and JC Penny. Link
  • Balmain x H&M: See the full collection with prices. Link
  • Rodarte to team up with & Other Stories next Spring. Link
  • Starbucks is testing delivering coffee to office workers in the Empire State Building. Link
  • How Levi’s is fighting athleisure by reinventing denim. Link
  • Ralph Lauren opens first store in Brooklyn. Link
  • American Apparel sees bright future after bankruptcy. Link
  • Target enlists entrepreneurs to help it think outside the big box. Link

Marketing/Social

  • Survey finds teens prefer Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. Link
  • Facebook pushes shopping features in move toward ecommerce. Link
  • How Facebook’s Moments is solving the other people’s photos problem. Link
  • Target taps Shazam for shoppable link to TV ad campaign. Link
  • How Unilever tapped ‘I Want that Hair’ moments by aggregating blogger videos. Link
  • Facebook tests video tab, intensifying YouTube rivalry. Link
  • How the Instagram effect is changing advertising images. Link

Startup

  • Outdoor Voices, a brand for simple, cool activewear, raises $7M in funding. Link
  • How non-technology companies are trying to mimic startups by launching innovation labs. Link

International

  • H&M’s next target is the Indian middle class. Link
  • Amazon bets on Mexico. Link
  • Zalando feels growth pains as margins miss estimates. Link
  • Starbucks may be opening stores in Italy. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech

  • Square, the mobile payments company, files for IPO. Link
  • Swatch links with China banking giants for mobile payment watch. Link
  • More brands use beacons to connect with customers real-time. Link
  • Nike debuts interactive shopping app, Tech Book. Link
  • Apple focuses on 3D Touch with new iPhone 6 ad. Link
  • Yaho offers password free log in for email. Link
  • LinkedIn revamps mobile app to boost use. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 10.12.2015

Leave a comment

Below is a recap of industry news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

  • Amazon challenges Etsy with handmade marketplace. Link
  • com eliminates $50 membership fee to broaden appeal. Link
  • Why big-name chefs are opening restaurants with Urban Outfitters. Link
  • More retailers offering free shipping on returns. Link
  • Uniqlo plans to curb US store openings, citing ‘limited’ brand awareness. Link
  • Amazon wants to know how its employees feel every day. Link
  • Gap slump deepens on disappointing September sales report. Link
  • Banana Republic’s creative directors steps down as brand flails. Link
  • Urban Outfitters to end on-call shifts in New York City. Link
  • Amazon building a tech business for the long haul. Link
  • Holiday sales expected to total $630B this year. Link
  • Dell buys EMC for $67B, the largest deal in tech history. Link
  • When it comes to delivery, one size doesn’t fit all. Link
  • City Sports files for bankruptcy, will sell or close down. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Mobile search surpasses desktop at Google. Link
  • With reactions, Facebook supercharges the like button. Link
  • How advertising will work in Google’s accelerated mobile pages. Link
  • Vimeo is producing its first slate of originals. Link
  • Twitter’s Moments geared to reduce newcomer intimidation. Link
  • Marketers look to diversify their online spending. Link
  • Facebook to start soring ads’ results across its mobile app network. Link
  • Pinterest adds retailers with expanded buy button. Link
  • Snapchat on pace to overtake Facebook for video supremacy. Link

Startups:

  • Glamsquad raises another $15M to launch in more cities. Link
  • Start-ups picked by Disney hint at future tech for children. Link
  • Meet Sounds, a music app that lets you share songs on Instagram. Link

International:

  • Need Supply to open stores in Japan. Link
  • European fashion sense dominates online too. Link
  • Russia proves a bright spot for China’s online retailers. Link
  • SIngPost grows ecommerce with U.S., European services. Link
  • Apple is blocking its news app from everyone in China. Link
  • WalMart Canada to join forces with 7-Eleven for ecommerce pickup points. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • How Urban Outfitters may boost mobile sales with visual search. Link
  • Microsoft builds its first laptop, the Surface Book. Link
  • Facebook Messenger for Apple Watch officially launches. Link
  • Abercrombie looks to revive sales with mobile-led model. Link
  • China helps offset lowest US iPhone share in the past four years. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 10.5.2015

Leave a comment

Below is a recap of industry news over the last week. Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brand/Retailer:

  • Walmart expands pick-up service as grocery war with Amazon intensifies. Link
  • Ralph Lauren to step down as CEO, hand reins to Old Navy executive. Link
  • Aeropostale gets listing warning from NYSE as shares fall below $1. Link
  • Amazon will now pay you to deliver packages. Link
  • Target to match online prices with online rivals. Link
  • Staples to close on Thanksgiving in sign of Black Friday retreat. Link
  • Amazon to stop selling Apple TV and Chromecast. Link
  • Apple Watch to hit Target shelves soon. Link
  • Yoox Net-a-Porter rises on trading debut. Link
  • Luxury web battle looms as LVMH, Hugo Boss develop eCommerce. Link
  • Silicon Valley’s latest threat? Under Armour. Link
  • Gap’s loss of Old Navy chief brings new storm to retailer adrift. Link
  • American Apparel filed for bankruptcy but it isn’t shutting down. Link
  • H&M’s 700-piece beauty collection is here. Link
  • Amazon picked up Conde Nast reality series the Fashion Fund. Link
  • Amazon, Google move into on-demand home services. Link
  • UPS asks people to pick up packages themselves. Link

Marketing/Social:

  • Pinterest opens API platform to all developers. Link
  • YouTube’s most native ad yet puts shoppable cards into organic videos. Link
  • Snapchat is adding more ways for advertisers to be in your silly selfies. Link
  • The buy button heads to Youtube and Twitter. Link
  • Brands woo millennials with a wink, an emoji or whatever it takes. Link
  • YouTube beats Facebook in surfacing brands’ older videos. Link
  • Pinterest gets even more shoppable. Link
  • Klout Perks quietly shuts down. Link

Startups:

  • Google acquires rich messaging startup Jibe Mobile. Link
  • Lobster, the marketplace for user generated content, strikes a deal with YouTube. Link
  • Rocket Internet startups see revenue jump, losses mount. Link

International:

  • Canada’s malls are shirking their suburban-time-waster status to become upscale destinations. Link
  • H&M to open store in Russia. Link
  • A sneak peak into H&M’s first store in India. Link
  • H&M joins Uniqlo in voicing confidence over China amid slowdown. Link
  • Facebook will provide internet in Africa from space starting in 2016. Link

Mobile/Emerging Tech:

  • Mobile sales will exceed $252B in 2020. Link
  • Why Jet.com spends 10% of its ad spend on mobile. Link
  • Philips plans to upgrade its Hue lights to Apple’s HomeKit. Link
  • Amazon makes a dash to take lead in internet of things. Link
  • Instagram took advantage of Apple’s new 3D touch. Link